Selling my plane has been on my mind all week since I am looking at buying a different one. Been trying to convince myself that selling is the right thing to do. I made an offer on a plane this morning, pending a prebuy, and it was accepted. My excitement for a new plane is clouded by my sadness of needing to sell the plane that my dad and I rebuilt, that I got my license in and is pretty much the only plane I have ever flown. Hopefully that sadness will dissipate the first time I take the family camping. I'm going to let my dad handle the sale of our current plane.

Anyone else get attached to their flying machine or am I the only softy?

You're not alone.... There have been a couple over the years with pretty distinct personalities that are still missed.

Gump

Hell dude, I got attached to the 172 I learned to fly in at the club. I've now owned a Maule for a grand total for 3 months and can't imagine getting rid of it.

You are not alone.

I had a beautiful Tri-Pacer that had just been rebuilt by Doug Rhinehart, who owned the rights to build the Rose Parakeet. The spray planes I leased were junk. The mechanic I leased from called all airplanes "piles." He called the pile I had just flown in "tired." He looked over at one of the wrecked Pawnees on the field and said, "that pile is all used up."

I owned a Pitts S2A in the 90's that was really hard to sell. It was a totally impractical airplane, and landing it was always a challenge, but it was an absolute joy once you got away from the ground. Unlike spam cans, you can't rent a plane like that, so selling it meant no more of that kind of flying. That was 20 years ago and there are still days when I think it would be nice to have that plane when I open the hangar door. I just bought a Maule MX7-180C, and I'm sure I'll feel the same way about it if/when it goes on the market.

If you don't feel that way you ain't a real flyer

Trade one POS for another POS is the way I figure it. Whatcha gettin'?

men are stupid that way...

I try not to get emotionally attached to an airplane. The way I look at it, and what I teach my students is not to trust it, it will kill you if you let it. No emotion on it's part. That being said you can't really help getting attached. Kinda like raising a guide dog puppy. You know you're going to have to give it up someday, so you tell yourself not to fall in love. But you can't help it and cry the day you send them off anyway

My cub was bought by my grandfather in 1963..... It is the last airplane he ever flew in before he died.... Told my kids that I would haunt them if they even think about selling it after I head West...

Brian

Glad to see I'm not alone. I'm keeping a tight lip till the deal is done.

This "Old Troubadour" and few beers helped me make the hard time a little easier a time or 2. Good Luck with the new plane.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3-b5mo4 ... detailpage

Your not alone, Whee!

I'm very emotionally attached to my Skylane and I'm doing everything I can to keep her. I really should sell her, even if it's at a huge loss (equity) to me right now. But I know I'll get her running again in the next year or so (hadn't I been saying that the last couple of years?). Anyway, I know I really should sell her after she's airworthy, too. But man, I can't imagine flying anything else that would really fit my budget and missions. We'll see, maybe after she's airworthy with a fresh engine, somebody will offer me something I cannot refuse

Good luck with your new plane. I'm sure it's the right thing to do. Especially when your taking your family flying and camping out of the plane

contactflying wrote:beautiful Tri-Pacer

Oxymoron??? )
Just funnin.

I cried when our first Skylane taxied out, after we'd traded it for a new TR182--it was a good airplane, a 1970 with only 300 hours on it when we bought it and about 1500 when we traded for the TR182. I never got attached to that true POS--it had more things wrong with it than Carter has pills, and my pard pushed all of the maintenance responsibilities off to me, so I had to deal with the dealer, and Cessna, and King, etc.--frustrating. I truly grew to hate that hunkajunk. Then we traded that off on a T210, which I couldn't afford to stay in, and I never got attached to it, either. Good airplane, just no personality.

But 9 years ago I bought my little P172D, and although her engine flew apart within 15 hours of ownership, I've grown to love her. I've had lots of things added, changed, improved, fixed, etc., so she's really "mine". I've flown her all over the western US, to OSH several times, on several Angel Flights, and just flittin' around. She has a very definite personality, and although she's not flyable right now because the prop is in the prop shop, I've visited her several times over the last several weeks, just to say "hi" and comfort her for having to be in my IA's hangar rather than her own digs.

I figure she's the last airplane I'll ever own, and for the most part, we get along great. So yeah, I'm very attached to her.

Cary

I do as well. Even got attached to one past type of aircraft where I'd fly one of thirty plus aircraft. The D328 was a great plane to fly.

I find I'm very attached to the 182 I've been running around in for the last 7 years or so. Luckily, I'm still in the club and fly her every now and then. Probably the aircraft I know best and have so many fond memories of family trips in.

We are now bonding with a new aircraft and the more I personalize it, the more its taking hold. It's interesting that others become attached too. After our first short family lunch run, I asked Dee what she thought and she said it was good...but wasn't overly enthusiatic. When asked why, she said she didn't know. Then she said it was just different and that she just missed the familiarity of the 182.

shorton wrote:If you don't feel that way you ain't a real flyer

X2 !

FWIW, the airplane you got attached to is one that someone else was attached to first, but they justified selling it. So without that guy letting go, you would not have had the opportunity to get attached to your current aircraft. "The Great Circle of Flight" and all that Kumbaya stuff.

From the airplane's perspective (yes, I believe), if the airplane leaves your hands in better shape than it was in before, you have done right by it, and now it can go enrich someone else's life the way it enriched yours. Occasionally, sadly, an airplane comes into your life and you have to make a decision to take it off flight status, or even scrap it, because of some major safety issue. (Such is the case of a poorly built flying wing glider now sitting in my garage; it will likely hurt or kill someone, so I have to be the end of the line for it.)

So if you made the airplane a little better than it was, and you took care of it, and loved it, and make sure it goes to a good home, then it will thank you and go on to give wings to someone else.

I occasionally check on the 172 my family had in the early 1970's. The registration hasn't changed since the advent of the internet, it is still out there.

I have my Dad's Champ he bought in 1961. I soloed this airplane in 1971 at age 16(I'm old). I have vowed never to sell it and my brother who also soloed the same airplane has no emotion and hasn't even seen the airplane in about 15 years since we live 700 miles apart. If it wasn't a family heirloom I'm sure I would be thinking different as I hate complying with all the bullshit that goes with certified airplanes. I have built several homebuilts and have sold them over the years without any reservations. One would think selling an airplane you built from scratch(no kits) would be harder but I never seem to have a problem with that. The old champ still gets plenty of love, it trained many pilots and has been to a lot of fly ins, oshkosh, blakesburg and sun & fun. I'm building a Bearhawk Patrol now so the champ will get moved to the back of the hangar sometime but it will stay. I know your pain.

A plane owned by your dad that is yours now or bringing it into the world with your own hands will definitely get some hooks into you. Its not the attachment to the hardware but the connection to the memories. If you go homebuilt, even if you didn't start the project but put the time and effort in to making it yours, it will finally own you.